In 1576, the Polish Sejm elected Stefan Batory a new king. He remained in the annals of history as a great commander, a talented leader of a strong army, who managed to turn the tide of the Livonian war.
The origin of the future king
At the end of September 1533, a son named after his father was born into the family of the governor of Transylvania Stefan Batory. He was Hungarian by ethnicity and belonged to the noble family of the Batoriev Shomlio.
In that era, Transylvania (now part of Romania) was a disputed territory claimed by both Romanians and Hungarians. In ancient times, it was inhabited by Dacians conquered by the Romans, after their departure the Hungarians settled here, and in the time of Batoria Transylvania was under the protectorate of the Turkish Sultan.
Training and service
At age 15, Stefan joined the service of Ferdinand Habsburg, who at that time was king of Hungary, Germany and the Czech Republic. While in his retinue, he came to Italy, where he entered the University of Padua. It is not known whether he graduated from it, however, of course, it was here that Bathory perfectly mastered Latin, which at that time was not only the language of church services, but also of the ruling European elite. Latin came in handy when he began to rule the Commonwealth without knowledge of local languages.
Career turnaround
Stefan Batory on his own initiative left the imperial court to go to the service of the Transylvanian governor Janos Zapoyai. The latter led the rebellious Ferdinand Habsburg part of Hungary, being his personal opponent. Historians suggest that Bathory was driven, as we would say today, by patriotic feelings.
This step made him an enemy of the Germans, since from that moment Stefan was in a politically hostile camp. During the war he fell into German captivity, where he stayed for 3 years. As in Italy, Bathory did not lose time in vain, which was completely unusual for a person of his position. He took up self-education, studied ancient Roman lawyers and historians.
After being released from captivity at the age of 38, Bathory was elected Prince of Transylvania. He was the first to receive the princely title, all previous rulers, including his father, were called governors. However, the royal crown was also waiting for him. The Polish Sejm, for good reason, offered it to Stefan Batory: he had a noble background, military experience, which was very much appreciated in that era, an excellent education and the necessary personal qualities.
Marriage for the Crown
The gentry enjoyed enormous powers in Poland, she not only could veto any order of the king, but also had the right to elect him. After Henry Valois secretly fled to his homeland in 1574, preferring the French throne to the Polish one, Bathory put forward his candidacy.
He was supported by representatives of the small and medium gentry. He attracted them with military experience, the presence of a trained army consisting of Hungarians, and he himself was known as a recognized commander. But the election was promised to him only subject to one condition: Stefan Batory had to marry Anna, the sister of the last Jagiellon.
Family life
At the time of his election, King Batory was 43 years old, and his bride 53 years old. Of course, there could be no talk of any heir. However, their union was initially purely political. But although Stefan avoided fulfilling his conjugal duty, yet when the bishop suggested that he think about divorce and a second marriage, he flatly refused.
Reforms
During the coronation ceremony, which took place in May 1576 in Krakow, Bathory made a solemn oath on the Bible. He promised:
- observe the Henrikoff articles;
- redeem or force free all captured Lithuanians and Poles;
- return the lands of Lithuania conquered by the Moscow kingdom;
- pacify the Crimean Tatars.
Indeed, Tatar raids on the eastern borders of the Commonwealth at Batoria were rare. Basically, they were reflected by the Ukrainian Cossacks, whom the new king endowed with lands for good service. In addition, he recognized the Cossacks the right to have their own banner, as well as the right to elect a military foreman and hetman. The candidacy of the latter, however, was finally approved by the Polish king.
During the entire 10-year reign, Stefan Batory supported the Jesuits, whose education system was the best in Europe at that time. In Drepta, Lviv, Riga, Lublin, Polotsk he founded collegiums. In 1582, he introduced the Gregorian calendar throughout the Commonwealth.
But his main activity was the conduct of wars. For this purpose, the army of the kingdom was reformed, and its backbone was composed of well-trained mercenaries (Hungarians and Germans). In Europe, Bathory bought new guns and hired service staff to them. Now one could think about the promise to return the lands captured by Muscovy in the early stages of the Livonian War.
Stefan Batory changes the course of events
The beginning of a protracted conflict off the Baltic coast was favorable for the Moscow kingdom: Polotsk was conquered, access to the sea was obtained. But with the accession of Stephen Batory to the Polish throne, the Livonian War was actually lost by Ivan the Terrible.
The army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, whose elite were Germans and Hungarians, was better armed and better trained. During its offensive, almost all the previous conquests of the Moscow kingdom were lost: Polotsk, Livonia and Courland again went to the Commonwealth.
The only major defeat of the Polish army was Stefan Batory's unsuccessful campaign in Pskov. You can learn about this event from quite numerous sources - both Russian and Polish. The diaries of the participants in that military campaign were preserved, for example, Castellan Jan Soborski, who commanded the selected part of the army of Batory, Luka Dzilynsky, the commander of the vanguard detachment.
Siege of Pskov by Stefan Batory
The army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth approached the walls of the city in August 1581. Bathory did not doubt victory, because he had at his disposal an army of many thousands. To intimidate the enemy, he organized a military review under the walls of the city. He was supposed to make a strong impression on the few (in comparison with the besieging) defenders.
The defense of Pskov from Stefan Batory was led by the princes Shuisky and Skopin-Shuisky. On their orders, the townspeople burned and devastated the neighborhood in order to deprive the enemy of food and forage.
The siege of the city walls began in early September. Unexpectedly for the Poles, the Pskovites put up decisive resistance that neither undermining, nor assaults, nor red-hot kernels, nor breaches in the walls could break.
Then Bathory decided to try another tactic: he invited the defenders of Pskov to surrender on favorable terms in order to avoid extermination. The townspeople refused, although the expected help from the king never came.
But Stefan Batory's army suffered hardships. The siege lasted longer than the king had originally supposed. With the first frosts, food shortages, illnesses began, and mercenaries demanded a salary. In such a situation, it became obvious that the city could not be taken. The Polish king in November, having transferred command to the hetman Zamoysky, left for Vilna.
However, Ivan the Terrible also sought to conclude a truce. In January of the following year, with the mediation of the papal legate, it was concluded on conditions extremely disadvantageous to the Moscow kingdom. Only after this the Poles finally lifted the siege of Pskov.
Sudden demise
After the armistice, Bathory continued the reforms within his vast kingdom. In Grodno, he began restructuring the Old Castle, where his residence was. Here Stephen Bathory suddenly died at the end of 1586.
As rumors of poisoning began to spread, an official autopsy was conducted. Doctors found no trace of the poison, but found the cause of the king’s death: acute renal failure.
Stefan Batory was originally buried in Grodno, but later his remains were moved to Krakow, reburied in the Wawel Cathedral, which is the tomb of many Polish monarchs.